Harvey woke up and it was a while before he realised it was a Saturday and one that he didn't have to work through. He remembered the conversation from the night before and instinctively reached for his phone. There was a message:

Sorry about last night I think. Think you called. Was completely wrecked. Did you call about mock trial or did I imagine it? I wont be able to take call/text beck right away, working til 9

The kid was working? After that party? Harvey did not envy him. At least his text was readable. Harvey looked at the clock, half nine. He got up and showered and wondered what he was supposed to do. He couldn't just go down there and speak to him, he was probably busy. He didn't think that there would be a time today that the shop would be empty enough for some quiet discussion.

He got dressed, trying not to worry about his clothing too much. He ended up wearing a dark, long sleeved tshirt and jeans. Too casual? No, anything more would look strange. He walked down to the street and into the shop. The queue was halfway around the room and Harvey really wanted a bagel.

"You want your usual?"

It was Mike's blonde friend... Jenny? He nodded and smiled and she gestured to the seating area. Was this because he was a regular? He took a seat and waited, grinning when he saw a very hungover looking Mike approaching with his coffee and bagel.

"You look rough, kid."

"Well that's good, because I feel dead."

"How long have you been working? Do you get a break soon? I wanted to talk to you about the mock trial," Harvey said.

"I'm due one soon, but I'm supposed to take it in the Break Room," Mike said, frowning. "I'll explain to the manager and see if I can sit out here."

He dashed off as Harvey began to unwrap his bagel. He wondered when exactly he was supposed to be paying for this; maybe he had some kind of tab now. Mike returned three minutes later, telling him he just needed to clean some tables and then he'd be able to take a ten minute break. Harvey waited, watching people order coffee to stop himself watching anything else.

"Right, I'm done," Mike said, dropping down into the seat opposite him. "You look weird in casual clothes."

"Oh, thanks."

"No, uh, not bad weird, just..."

"It's alright. I've heard it before," Harvey said. "So, my case requires a witness your age. I'm going to need you Monday and Tuesday if you're up for it."

"I sort of remember you saying something about a letter to get me out of class?"

"Yes, I'm going to have to talk to your parents, but it will come under work experience," Harvey said. Talking to his parents. That didn't make him feel any better about his age.

"Oh... uh, well you can't talk to my parents. You're going to have to talk to my grandma," Mike said. "My.. My parents died when I was young."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry." Harvey didn't know what he was supposed to say. Mike didn't look too upset, so that was good.

"No, it's fine. You didn't know. So, what would I have to do?"

Harvey handed Mike a copy of the file he'd been given.

"Well, technically, you only need to be a witness, but considering that you told me you have an eidetic memory, I thought it might be a good idea to give you all of the information," he said. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"Only from eight til twelve, why?" Mike flipped through the file.

"You'll be playing my second witness, a student intern at the company that I'm prosecuting. I've got my other witness sorted, we're going to need to go over everything to get you ready," he said. It was true. Donna hadn't been happy about playing an older woman, but he was the best he could do. Sure, there were other people he could ask, but Donna would always be the best.

"Sure, anything. You want to get coffee and go over it?"

"I'd prefer somewhere quiet," Harvey said. If he hadn't been a minor, if he hadn't been attracted to him, Harvey would have just taken him up to his apartment, but it wouldn't have been appropriate. "I know a good restaurant around the corner. I'll take you to lunch. As a thank you for helping me with the trial."

"Okay," Mike said. He was smiling and Harvey was pretty sure that the slight blush crossing his cheeks wasn't supposed to make him so attractive. "Shall I write down my number so you can call my grandma?"

"Yeah, that would be good."

"I've got to get back to work, but I'll see you later."

Harvey finished his coffee and stuffed his bagel wrapper in the empty cup. He left, making his way back to his apartment, trying not to worry about being alone with Mike. He just couldn't keep his eyes off of him. It would have been so much easier if the kid wasn't gay, if he didn't have a chance, but seventeen wasn't that young, was it? Fuck. He shouldn't be thinking about this.

The next day, Harvey was back down at the shop again. He'd phoned the restaurant and asked to reserve one of the back tables. No problem, it was somewhere he often took clients, it was intimate enough to hold a decent conversation, but public enough not to put them on edge. He was dressed similarly, his tshirt becoming a dark grey shirt. The restaurant wasn't too classy, but he still wanted to make the effort.

Mike came out of the back room, changed into a blue tshirt and jeans and Harvey smiled. Cute.

"Am I underdressed?" he asked as he walked out onto the street.

"No, it'll be fine," Harvey said as they set off.

"Is it far?"

"No, not far. Five minutes, maybe."

"So, what sort of person am I supposed to be? You know, for your trial?"

"I was thinking probably quite naïve, but intelligent. I need you to be completely sure of the evidence you're giving, what you heard and saw. The witness needs to be focused on the guilt of the company, disgusted that they would do anything wrong. Young, innocent, not yet corrupted by the world of business," Harvey said. "Do you think you could pull that off?"

Mike grinned, but it was a strange smile, wicked almost.

"Yeah, I think so. I might have to work on the innocent, not corrupted part, though."

"What?" Harvey laughed. "You? What's corrupted about you, eh?"

"I'm seventeen, Harvey, nearly eighteen. I'm not a child."

They spent the rest of the walk talking about the case, the background, what Mike should expect but Harvey couldn't think of anything but what Mike had said.

"Wow, we're eating here?" Mike asked when they reached the restaurant.

"Yeah, that okay?"

"Absolutely. It looks expensive, though, are you sure?"

"It's nothing, honestly," Harvey said, trying not to sound like he was boasting.

The waiter greeted them, impressing Mike further when he address Harvey by name. They were shown to a quiet table in the back and the waiter handed them their menus. Harvey didn't have to look, but he opened his anyway to give himself something to look at. Flicking his eyes up occasionally, Harvey noticed that Mike seemed nervous.

"Order anything you want, I don't mind," he said. "I'm sure you're hungry after work."

"I... Harvey, this menu has no prices."

"You don't need to see the prices if you aren't paying. Please, order what you want."

It was another minute before Mike spoke up again.

"Could I get the carbonara?"

"Of course," Harvey said, closing his menu and calling the waiter over. "One carbonara, one steak, please."

"T-Bone, rare?" the waiter asked. Harvey nodded. He rarely had anything different when he came here. "And to drink?"

"I'll just have water, thanks," Harvey said. "Mike?"

Harvey could see him thinking. He was hoping he wouldn't just choose water because he had.

"Lemonade, please," he said. The waiter nodded and left.

"So, have you had a chance to read over the file I gave you?" Harvey asked.

"Yes. It's interesting. Who are you up against?"

"Nobody important. As long as you focus on the facts, focus on what I tell you, you should be fine. Don't let him bully you, okay."

"Okay."

"If he tries, if it gets too much, just look at me, remember what you need to say and it'll be okay."

"How bad is he likely to be?" Mike asked.

"You can handle it. I could stop it, but in the end, if you don't crack, it'll make him look bad. So just focus on me and make sure you don't panic."

"I think I can do that," Mike replied.

Their food arrived and they ate quietly, occasionally talking about hobbies and similar things. Harvey was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mike liked similar books as he did. Once they had finished, they spent an hour going over the case, Harvey eventually convincing Mike to have dessert half way through. They left after Harvey paid, making sure that Mike didn't see how much money it had cost. Truth was, their meal had probably cost close to what Mike earned in a week.

Walking back, Harvey couldn't help thinking about taking Mike up to his, instead of leaving him by his bike.

"So, you've got the address, right?" Harvey asked as the sandwich shop and his building came into view.

"Yeah. You think everything will be okay with school?"

"I'm sure it will. I have permission from your grandma and I sent them a pretty official looking letter. The trial starts at eleven o'clock, make sure you're in reception by half ten. Ask for Donna," Harvey said.

"Okay, see you then," Mike said, unlocking his bike. "Thanks for lunch."

Once Harvey had opened his front door and sat down, it wasn't long before his thoughts were slipping back to those ridiculously pretty eyes.